THE reward was golden for two Dunfermline guides when they were presented with the organisation's highest award.

Jessica Thomson and Mhairi McGirr, both 14, were presented with their Gold Awards at a presentation evening at Fordell Firs, near Hillend.

The accolade is the highest a guide can achieve and is the culmination of four years' of hard work.

Unit leader Sharon Barr explained: "They do a lot of work to get to this. We don't get a lot of them as they need to commit the whole of their guiding years as it takes the four years to get there.

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"Because of the way the programme is structured for us now, they get a lot of stuff without knowing they are doing it. We incorporate it into the programme.

"When they get to their gold, they have to do an extra little bit which is about an adventure. It has got to be something that is individual to them.

"Jessica went to California where she witnessed climate change first hand, enduring temperatures of over 50 degrees, visiting a wildlife and a nature conservation centre where she searched for scorpions in the dark.

"Mhairi took her adventure in a different direction and learnt how to paddle board in Ireland including paddle boarding in caves."

The pair received their awards from West Fife Division Commissioner Anne Simpson.